BOZEMAN — The Big Sky Conference has been pretty good to the Montana State women’s basketball team so far. It’s sitting at 3-1, led in part by two transfers, Martha Kuderer and Claire Lundberg.
“I just think (Kuderer) has really stepped up since conference, she’s really started to be really aggressive,” head coach Tricia Binford said. “I think (Lundberg), from the beginning of the season, the entire team knew she was going to be a big piece of what we did, but she’s starting to step it up on the defensive end, too.”
And the catch – this isn’t the first time the two have played on the same court together. Their history dates all the way back to playing basketball at Seton Hall.
“It was really fun playing with (Lundberg). I mean, we’re both from Minnesota, too, so we could kind of relate to each other really well, and we became friends,” Kuderer said. “So it was really fun having her as a teammate.”
Lundberg, a year older, agreed.
“It was really nice. As soon as she came in, we just had this chemistry and started working off of that,” Lundberg said. “Even from coming from there to here, (we) just keep building on that chemistry and keep working.”
Their time as Pirates overlapped in two seasons, then they both decided it was time to transfer.
“I think immediately both of them were no-brainers,” Binford said about the two. “But we were recruiting them both individually, not as a package deal.”
“After I committed, I think (Lundberg) was between two schools,” Kuderer began. “Obviously, Montana State was one of them, so I didn’t want to pressure her too much, but I really hoped she would decide to come here, and when she did I was really excited.”
After sitting out a year due to transfer rules, the two were definitely excited to play together again.
“It’s been nice, she’s always been somebody I can rely on if something were to happen with my other teammates,” Lundberg said. “I know she’s going to be there for me, so that’s been really helpful.”
